Packaging for tool sets

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a packaging, mainly for tool sets, consisting of a handle ( 5 ) and tool-inserts ( 12 ) to be inserted into the handle and a box ( 1 ) to take the components of the tool set. The box ( 1 ) is designed in such a way that either the handle ( 5 ) extends with its front part ( 6 ) through an aperture ( 14   a ) in the side wall of the box into the inner space of the box and with its main part ( 7 ) protrudes free outside of the box ( 1 ) or the handle ( 5 ) protrudes in full length outside of the box. At both embodiments the handle may be encompassed by the hand whereas the shank ( 9   a ) extends into the inner space of the box. Handle and shank are held in their position by support and holding elements ( 8   a,    8   b,    13, 16 ) at the lid ( 3 ) and bottom part ( 2 ) of the box.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

This application claims priority to European patent application 03016845.4, filed on Jul. 24, 2003, and German patent applications 102 40 792.4 and 102 37 734.0, filed on Aug. 30, 2002, and Aug. 17, 2002, respectively. The contents of European patent application 03016845.4, filed on Jul. 24, 2003, and German patent applications 102 40 792.4 and 102 37 734.0, filed on Aug. 30, 2002, and Aug. 17, 2002, respectively, are incorporated in their entireties herein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a packaging for Tool Sets, consisting of a box to receive the parts of the set—a handle and exchangeable tool inserts to be used with the handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Packaging of that kind as known from the market consist of a lower or bottom part of the box which takes the handle and the tool inserts, the parts laying in moulded in cavities or are held by clamping-elements, and the upper part or lid of the box. The lid may be connected with the lower part by a joint or be a separate part stuck to the bottom part. The lid is normally made of a transparent material so that the contents of the box can be seen without opening the box. Other boxes show windows in the lid which also allow the contents of the box to be seen. Boxes of that kind are used for tool sets of high quality but also of low quality.

To avoid that individual parts are stolen out of the box when they are displayed in the store, the lid of the box cannot be opened. A person interested in possibly buying a tool set cannot have a closer look at the parts or test the grip on the handle. On the market there are boxes which contain a handle and exchangeable tool inserts at which the lid has an aperture through which the handle partly rises above the outer plane of the lid. The aperture may follow the contour of the handle at a plane given by the plane of the lid and it is possible to touch parts of the handle's surface with fingers but it is not possible to fully grip with the hand. Because a well designed ergonomic handle indicates that the whole set is of good quality and that it may be expected to work well with a comfortable handle, it would be advantageous for the presentation and helpful to improve sales if the customer could have a full grip on the handle and test it without opening the box.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a packaging or box which meets such a requirement. According to the invention, into a side-wall of the box an aperture is formed in the bottom part and lid, or only into the bottom part, which is formed to fit with the handle at its front region at the point of smallest diameter and hold the handle when the box is closed. A short section of the handle's front region reaches into the box but the main part which is encompassed by the hand when working with the tools, protrudes completely free outside of the box. In a variation of the arrangement of box and handle, the handle protrudes free in its full length out of the box. Details will become apparent when taken into consideration with the following drawings and specifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a packing with the handle protruding out of the box with its main region.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 1, handle not cut.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the short side of the box only, without handle, according to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the aperture to hold the handle.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a packaging with the handle protruding completely free in its full length out of the box.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 4, handle not cut.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the short side of the box only, without handle, according FIG. 4 showing the aperture to hold the handle at the shank.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a packaging according to FIG. 1 to 3 with lid open.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a packaging according to FIG. 4 to 6 with lid open.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a box, the lid partly broken open, with handle and exchangeable long screwdriver blades.

FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 is a packing according to FIG. 1 to 8, however with magnifying elements at the lid.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a packaging with another embodiment of the box with lid open.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a packaging according to FIG. 13 with lid closed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The box (1) according to FIG. I consists of the lower or bottom part (2) which normally is made of a non-transparent material. At the short side of the box apertures (14 a, 14 b) are formed into the side walls through which the handle (5) with its front region (6) reaches into the box (1) whereas the main region (7) of the handle protrudes free out of the box and can be encompassed by the hand.

The rib (8 a, 8 b) supports and holds the shank (9 a) which is fixed in the handle (5). At the end of the shank (9 a) there is a headpiece or a holding device (9 b) to take the exchangeable tool inserts, the example shows screwdriver-bits. The handle (5) is being held in position in a way that the lid (3) encompasses at the apertures (14 a, 14 b) the front region (6) of the handle and pins or ribs (13) at the inner side of the lid press onto the shank (9 a) when the lid is closed. Another possibility to hold the handle may be that onto the upper side of the ribs (8 a, 8 b) sidewardly elastic extensions with clamps are moulded, which grip the shank, or, to make the width (b) of the apertures in the ribs (8 a, 8 b) somewhat smaller than the diameter of the shank (9 a) so that the shank is clamped. At the bottom part (2) of the box as shown by the example a hanger-tab (11) is fixed or moulded with the bottom and may be removed after sale. The tool-inserts, as shown by FIG. 1 to 8 short screwdriver bits (12), are held in the bottom part (2) of the box by a kind of clamping elements in the inner side of the bottom part. Because the fixing or holding elements for the tool inserts are not a part of the invention, they are not shown and described in detail. The lid (3) of the box is connected with the bottom part (2) by joints (10). A snap-lock (4) keeps lid and bottom part shut. A sealing element may be attached on lid and bottom part to prevent an opening of the box and stealing parts out of it. Such an element is not described in detail.

FIG. 2 shows the packaging according FIG. 1 in a view of the long side cut along line A-A. The main region (7) of the handle (5) protrudes out of the box (I), the shank (9 a) is supported by the ribs (8 a, 8 b). The lid (3) of the box presses on the front region (6) of the handle at its largest diameter and keeps the handle in position. Pins or ribs (13) on the inner side of the lid press onto the shank (9 a). The screwdriver-bits are held in a kind of quivers or by clamping elements on the inner side of the bottom part. The lid contacts the tips of the screwdriver-bits when the box is closed and by this way holds the bits in their position.

FIG. 3 is a view of the short side of the box (1) without handle. The width (B) of the apertures (14 a, 14 b) has the same diameter as the front part (6) of the handle at its smallest diameter. The aperture in the bottom part allows to put the handle into its position in the bottom part (2) from above and to take it out in the same direction when the box is opened. The rib (8 a) supports the shank (9 a) and has an aperture which has the same diameter as the shank (9 a). The ribs (8 a, 8 b) shown in FIG. I and 2 are positioned and are shaped to also fix the handle in the longitudinal direction.

At the embodiment according to FIG. 4 the wall at the short side of the bottom part (2) of the box (1) has an aperture (14) with a width (b) corresponding to the diameter of the shank (9 a). The ribs (8 a, 8 b) support the shank (9 a), the rib (8 b) is placed to protrude directly behind the headpiece or holding device (9 b).

Because the headpiece (9 b) is larger in diameter than the shank and the aperture in the rib (8 b) has a width corresponding to the diameter of the shank the handle is held in one axial direction by the rib. In the other axial direction the handle is held by the side wall of the box contacting the front side of the handle which is larger in diameter than the aperture (14) in the side wall.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the box according to FIG. 4 cut along line A-A at FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the small side of the box according to FIG. 4 and 5 without handle. The width (b) of the aperture (14) has the same dimension as the diameter of the shank (9 a).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view on the packaging according to FIG. 1 to 3 with lid open.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view on the packaging according to FIG. 4 to 6 with lid open.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a box, the lid partly broken open, with handle and exchangeable long screwdriver-blades.

At embodiments of the box according to FIG. 11 to 12 the lid (3) is preferably made of transparent plastic material and its upper side and/or long side show magnifying elements (17,18) which are moulded into the lid and serve to magnify the tips of the screwdriver-inserts to enable a better view of the type of the bit. The magnifying elements may be shaped as lenses or longitudinal cylinder-sections. The magnifying elements are placed above or beside the position of the bit tips.

A box with a further embodiment according to FIG. 13 and 14 box 1 consists of the bottom part (2) and the lid (3). In the bottom part the screwdriver inserts (12) are imbedded in cavities, furthermore into the bottom part a cavity is moulded and shaped according to the shape of the shank (9 a) and the headpiece (9 b) so that these parts will fit into this cavity. There is a step from the cavity for the headpiece (9 b) to the cavity for the shank (9 a). This step holds the headpiece in one longitudinal direction. The front side of the handle (5) contacts the side wall of the box as described before and holds the handle in the other longitudinal direction. The lid (3) has an aperture (I 9) through which the headpiece (9 b) of the shank can be seen when the box is closed. Moreover the lid has further apertures (20) which open the view of the tips of the screwdriver inserts also when the box is closed. The long side of aperture (20) has tongue-shaped extensions (21 ) which are shaped to contact the bits when the lid is shut and hold the bits in their cavity.

The elements with the same particular function may differ only in shape at the various embodiments therefore they are marked with the same identification figures on the different Figures.

A tool set may not only consist of a handle with shank (9 a) and headpiece (9 b) and screwdriver inserts (12) but also of a handle with a bush inserted in the handle and long blades (15) as shown by FIG. 15. The blades lie in individual cavities moulded into the bottom part (2). To hold the front region (6) of the handle (5) firmly it is suitable to mould a cavity (16) with the shape of the front region (6) of the handle into the bottom part (2) so that the handle is held when the box (1) is shut and the lid (3) presses onto the front part of the handle—as it does at embodiments shown by FIG. 1 to. 8.

Boxes according to the described FIGS. 1 to 14 are preferably injection-moulded of plastic material, the ribs (8 a, 8 b, 13), the cavity (16), quivers and other cavities or fixing elements to hold the handle and the tool inserts are moulded in one piece, either with the lid or the bottom part. Suitable for the purpose may also be a box shown by FIGS. 1 to 12 at which the bottom part (2) and the lid (3) are injection-moulded but a tray made of plastic foil is fixed in the bottom part, in that tray cavities are formed to take the tool inserts. These cavities may be shaped and have dimensions to hold the tool inserts by clamping. In the same manner a cavity is formed to hold the front region (6) of the handle.

Boxes as described with lid and bottom part made by injection moulding are durable boxes for long lasting use. Boxes for this purpose may also be produced by blow-moulding of plastic material. By this method of production the bottom part (2) will be blown as a hollow two-walled body in which cavities and apertures (14, 14 a) to take the tool-inserts (12), the shank (9 a) the headpiece (9 b) are formed as those formed into the same part produced by injection moulding. The lid (3) will be produced by the same method and may be connected with the bottom part by a film-joint. The lid will be provided with the aperture (14 b) in the short side wall as well as with elements to hold the shank and the front part (6) of the handle (5). It is suitable to insert into the lid a plate of transparent plastic so that the contents of the box can be seen if the box is shut. The box in total may be blow moulded from transparent plastic material leaving a part of the box for example above the shank (9 a) and the magnifying elements (17, 18), with smooth transparent surface whereas the remaining surface may have a texture given by a textured surface of the blow-mould so that these areas of the box appear opaque.

In addition to the preceding description boxes may be mentioned which are intended to be used only as sales packaging. These boxes normally consist of a bottom part made of cardboard and a lid or cover made of transparent plastic foil. The bottom part has an aperture similar to aperture (14) in FIG. 3 formed by punching to hold the front part/region of the handle. The ribs correspond to the ribs (8 a, 8 b) and may be formed by cutting a U-like contour into the cardboard bottom and bending the cardboard so that it protrudes rib—like in the inner space of the bottom part. Alternatively into the bottom part made of cardboard a tray of plastic foil with the cavities and fixing elements may inserted.

The advantage of packaging or boxes as described according to the invention is not only that the handle protrudes free outside of the box and helps to improve sales but also that the box itself is much smaller than it would have to be if the handle had to be placed inside the box. Therefore a box according to the invention is also much lower in cost. Packaging and boxes as described may be used not only for tool-sets but also for other sets consisting of exchangeable inserts and a handle if the design or shape of the handle is important for the function.

The invention covers of course not only the variations and combinations of embodiments as described but also other variations and combinations of parts or elements of the box characterized by the fact that a handle with its main part protrudes free outside of the box. Under this aspect, for example, a packaging for screwdriver sets may be considered, containing several screwdrivers in a box but with one screwdriver protruding with the main part of the handle free outside of the box. 

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A package for a tool set, the tool set including a handle with a gripping portion and a plurality of exchangeable tool-inserts to be used with the handle, the package comprising: a box to store the tool set the box having an open top, the box configured such that the handle can be stored therein such that the gripping portion of the handle protrudes from the box; and a lid made of a transparent material, the lid mountable to the box to cover the open top of the box, the lid including a magnifying element.
 15. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the lid is hingedly connected to the box.
 16. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the handle has a shank, the shank being disposed in the box, the shank having a diameter, and the box has a side wall with an aperture therein, the aperture having a width substantially the same as the diameter of the shank of the handle, the shank extending through the aperture of the side wall of the box.
 17. The package for a tool set according to claim 16, wherein the box includes at least one rib, and the lid includes at least one rib, the shank of the handle being disposed between the at least one rib of the box and the at least one rib of the lid when the lid is mounted to the box.
 18. The package for a tool set according to claim 17, wherein the shank of the handle has a distal end and a proximate end, the distal end having a headpiece, and wherein one rib is disposed closely adjacent the headpiece to thereby fix the headpiece, the shank and the handle in one longitudinal direction, and another rib is disposed adjacent the proximate end of the shank to thereby fix the headpiece, the shank and the handle in the other longitudinal direction.
 19. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the handle has a shank, the shank being disposed in the box, the box has a side wall with an aperture therein, the lid has a sidewall with an aperture therein, the apertures of the box and the lid in alignment with each other when the lid is mounted to the box, the shank extending through the apertures of the lid and the box.
 20. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the box has an inner surface, the inner surface having a portion shaped to conform to the shape of at least a portion of the handle.
 21. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the rnagnifying element is a unitary piece of the lid.
 22. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the lid includes a plurality of magnifying elements corresponding to the number of exchangeable tool inserts of the tool set, each exchangeable tool insert being associated with a respective magnifying element of the lid when the lid is mounted on the box.
 23. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the box comprises an injection-molded plastic material.
 24. The package for a tool set according to claim 14, wherein the box comprises an blow-molded plastic material. 